


The Prince of Tennis- Camp Horror

by Aridith_Skye1999



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: Courage, Fear, Horror, Other, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-13
Updated: 2019-07-21
Packaged: 2019-08-23 02:32:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16610216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aridith_Skye1999/pseuds/Aridith_Skye1999
Summary: The Seigaku regulars along with Shitenhouji and Rikkaidai were invited to a recreation club situated in a mountain which is under Atobe’s family business. A lot of unsettling incidents happen in the camp, putting their lives in jeopardy. The dark past of the place is slowly revealed, and Tezuka, Marui, and Shiraishi, who are exceptionally sensitive to the paranormal, are forced to face their greatest fears, understanding what true courage means and the importance of overcoming psychological barriers. Can they eventually succeed and save themselves from this horrifying vortex of evil?





	1. Prologue

Prologue  
DO you believe in ghosts or demonic entities? This is the question almost everyone was asked. Some say they do while some say that there are no such things as ghosts or demons. Some of those who believe that those things exist is because they’ve actually seen one, while some believe merely because of the sake of believing or the people around them once encountered a ghost or any paranormal being.  
Tezuka Kunimitsu didn’t really believe the presence of ghosts or any supernatural beings before the age of thirteen. His grandfather, Tezuka Kunikazu once told him about the paranormal experience that happened to him when he was in his thirties, before the age of retirement. Tezuka Kunikazu was a police who worked for the Tokyo Police Deputy. During his very first cases, he and his team were sent to a shopping mall where a suicide case took place.  
The incident happened at the car park of the mall and the whole area was cordoned to prevent further access as so not to interrupt the investigation.  
Kunikazu, at that time was instructed to survey the area and search for any possible clue. He saw a woman in the process, approximately in her forties. She was frantically running around the area, and when she saw Kunikazu approaching she clutched his hand and asked, with tears all over her face: “Did you see my son?”  
Kunikazu tried to calm her down and ask her to leave the area, but she wasn’t getting any of it. Finally he managed to persuade her to leave by promising that he would find her son for her. When the woman nodded and agreed to cooperate at last, one of Kunikazu’s co-workers asked: “Who are you talking to?”  
“This woman, she’s searching for her son. Her son must have gotten lost.” Kunikazu told his colleague.  
His colleague frowned, puzzled, staring at the empty space Kunikazu was gesturing at: “I don’t see any woman.”  
“What? She was just right here-“Kunikazu turned, only to see the woman gone without a trace. It was like she disappeared into thin air. He looked around, pretty confused: “I swear she was right here.”  
“Are you okay, buddy?” His colleague asked, worried: “You’re seeing things.”  
“How did the woman look like?” One of the investigators asked, showing Kunikazu a picture of the deceased who just committed suicide. “Did she look like this?”  
The deceased woman in the photo looked just like the one Kunikazu talked to just now.  
That was the incident Kunikazu could never forget even after retirement. He was the only one who saw and communicated with that spirit, and as much as all of it seemed unbelievable, that was what truly happened.  
But all of it seemed unrealistic to Tezuka as he was a very skeptical person. He had always believed in whatever his grandfather said but he didn’t really consider to believe this one.  
That was until he turned thirteen, the very night before Halloween, just weeks after his thirteenth birthday. His father brought a portrait home that day, saying that he was keeping it temporarily for his friend before selling it. The moment the portrait entered their house, Tezuka could feel an overwhelming sense of constriction that he couldn’t explain why.  
The portrait was merely of a boy with a red hat, black shirt and dark blue pants. The boy was tilting his head, a wide, weird grin spread across his face, and what’s even unsettling was that there was a knife in his hand.  
The portrait looked normal enough but it was emitting an eerie atmosphere and would make Tezuka cringe each time he laid eyes on it. He told himself to stop thinking about it and try to ignore it until it was sold.  
On the night before Halloween, his parents had to go to a function and he was left alone in the house. He stayed in his room and spent his time reading books he borrowed from the school library. After finishing a third book he started to feel thirsty and decided to head to the kitchen to pour a glass of water.  
The portrait was left in the living room, and when Tezuka was about to take a turn into the kitchen, he noticed that something was terribly wrong with the portrait. The portrait was put beside the front door, facing the direction where Tezuka was standing. But the boy in the portrait was gone.  
Tezuka froze at the sight, chills running down his spine. It couldn’t be. He must be seeing things. The boy couldn’t have gone. It was just a drawing. He shook his head and looked again, but the boy did not reappear. Without second thoughts, he turned to run back upstairs, barged into his room and locked the door. He reached for the phone his parents left for him to call them, his whole body shivering in fear while he was waiting for them to pick up.  
After a few seconds, the whole house blacked out. Tezuka jumped and crawled into bed, pulling the covers over his head. His parents did not pick up, and he started to hear footsteps just outside his door. The footsteps were pacing outside the room, and whoever the footsteps belonged to was breathing heavily, loud, and hoarse breathing.  
Tezuka ended the call and listened closely, trembling with fear, trying hard to suppress his panting as so not to give himself away. The door to his bedroom swung open and although he couldn’t see it, he could feel the malicious presence in his room, slowly approaching him. Tezuka curled himself up, closing his eyes tight and prayed.  
When he thought he was doomed for good, he felt a weird sensation zapping out from his brain, and a brief flash of pain running through his head. All of a sudden, the presence in his room, most probably the boy who ‘escaped’ from the portrait, was gone. Slowly, he pulled the covers down to check the room.  
The room was empty and everything was the way it was. There was no trace of other beings, like whatever he heard and felt just now was his imagination. After moments of spacing out and pondering what just happened, he felt something wet touching his upper lip. He wiped his lip and was shocked to see blood. His nose was bleeding for no reason. Since that day, he started to believe the existence of the supernatural and what his grandfather once told him.  
He told his parents what he experienced and luckily they believed him. The boy was already back in the portrait, but his father burnt it anyways. That eliminated the problem and Tezuka never felt anything weird happen around him anymore.  
He thought that as long as he believes in their presence and show respect, nothing bad would happen ever again.  
But what happened at the end of his fifteenth year proved what he thought wrong. And he could never forget whatever he experienced.

 


	2. THE CAMP ON THE HILL

CHAPTER 1- THE CAMP ON THE HILL  
“A training camp?” Tezuka turned to look at his best friend, Fuji.  
“Yep, that’s what Atobe said.” Fuji replied, waving the mobile in his hand.  
“Atobe told you?” Tezuka questioned, stuffing his racket into the bag.  
“Nope, Oshitari did. Atobe told him.”   
“I see. But why? The nationals are over, I don’t see a need to train some more.” Tezuka picked his bag up and walked out of the clubroom with Fuji.  
“Beats me. You have to ask Atobe. It seems that he’s planning to invite us, Rikkaidai, and Shitenhouji.” Fuji shrugged.  
“Alright. I’ll ask him.” Tezuka nodded. He called Atobe as soon as he arrived home: “Hey, Atobe.”  
“Yeah, Tezuka?” The Hyotei captain said: “You miss me, huh?”   
“I wanna ask you about the training camp.” Tezuka ignored the tease and cut straight to the point.  
“What training camp?” Atobe asked in confusion.  
“The one you were mentioning to Oshitari. You said you’re going to invite us, Rikkaidai and Shitenhouji.”  
“How’d that get to you so fast?” Atobe was surprised.  
“Oshitari told Fuji, and Fuji told me.” Tezuka explained.  
“Oh, that big mouth spilled the beans again. Okay, so basically, my pops’ company bought the place and it was built as some kind of tennis recreation club. A whole bunch of new and high-tech facilities were installed there. Just thought we could maybe check the place out and stay for a week. We can do whatever we want there, play tennis, or just relax. Well, I know that all of us love tennis so much and that playing tennis would be the best relaxation for us.” Atobe told him: “I’m sharing the place with you guys so that we could enjoy together. You should be grateful.”  
“Alright, when are we going?”  
“End of this week, and I could arrange for transportation. You guys just bring whatever you want and we’re good to go.”   
“Okay. Got it. Cool, I’ll see you this week.” Tezuka said before hanging up: “Thanks for inviting, Atobe.”  
“You’re welcome! That’s more like it. Bye.”   
After talking to Atobe and confirming on the schedule, Tezuka informed the other regulars in their mutual LINE group about the trip. They were all thrilled to go for yet another gathering with their fellow tennis maniac friends. They hadn’t been seeing each other much now that the national tournament has ended.  
‘Wow! So it’s like a field trip?’ –Momo-Chan  
‘You idiot. Field trips only last for a day.’ –Kaidoh Snake  
‘Whaddya say?!’- Momo-Chan  
‘C’mon guys, don’t start getting heat up already. But it’s so generous for Atobe to invite us like that.’ –Eiji Meow  
‘The probability of him planning something evil is 88%.’ –Special Drink Inui  
‘Burning!! I’m already excited!!’ –Kawamura Sushi  
‘We could play games together! I will bring poker cards.’ –Tensai Fuji  
‘Great idea, Fujiko-chan!’ –Eiji Meow  
‘Guys, be sure to behave yourselves there. I know it’s supposed to be a relaxing trip but don’t go overboard, remember that we DO still have exams after we get back. Play nice but be safe, okay?’ –Oishi Fukubuchou  
‘Aww come on don’t spoil the fun, Oishi.’ –Eiji Meow  
‘You senpais sure are like little kids.’ –Ryoma E.  
‘You’re acting cool when you’re excited too, Echizen.’ –Momo-Chan  
The conversation about this trip went on for a while, and they couldn’t stop planning on all the fun things they could do together. And finally, the day for the trip was here.  
It was going to be a short four day three nights stay, so they didn’t pack a lot of luggage. The bus arrived at the school gates just as Atobe had arranged to pick them up.   
“Huh, Atobe sure is a guy who keeps his words.” Kikumaru said when they loaded onto the luxurious bus.  
“I couldn’t believe that the Hyotei tennis club actually gets to ride a bus like this each time they go out.” Momoshiro agreed, looking around the bus in awe. The seats are inexplicably comfortable and of high quality leather, unlike the normal bus they used to take.  
“Take a seat, you idiot. You’re blocking the way.” Kaidoh sneered.  
As the two second years started quarrelling yet again, Tezuka sat down beside Fuji and leaned back on the headrest. Fuji looked at him in concern and asked: “You okay? You look pretty tired.”  
“I’m fine. Was studying last night.” Tezuka adjusted his glasses.  
“You sure don’t know how to relax, don’t you, Tezuka?” Fuji said.  
“I just feel that there won’t be enough time left to study after this trip.”   
“Just relax, your results are good enough.”  
“I don’t want to get too careless.”  
“Yeah, yeah. Just don’t overdo it.”  
“I know. Thanks, Fuji.”  
After three hours of dozing, sleeping and talking, the bus came to a stop at the gates of the recreation club Atobe was mentioning. Two other buses were already parked at the gates, and the Hyotei and Rikkaidai members were gathering there.  
“Hey, guys!” Kikumaru hopped down the bus energetically to say hello.   
“Hey, Eiji! Your luggage!” Oishi followed behind him, clutching his luggage.  
“You’re finally here, Tezuka.” Atobe approached Tezuka and said: “I’m looking forward to playing you again here.”  
“Same here. Let’s not get careless.” Tezuka nodded.  
“Count me in on the duel! Tezuka, Atobe, I’ve never played neither of you before.” Yukimura chimed in, and the three captains started chatting about tennis right away.  
A few minutes later, Shitenhouji arrived, too, and the buses left. Atobe led the gang into the main building of the club and gave them a brief tour. The overall surrounding and interior decoration of the place was cosy and clean enough, the club even consists of an indoor gym, a pool, plenty of tennis courts, resting area with a television, a canteen, and a huge kitchen.  
“That’s Atobe’s place for you. Luxurious and perfect facilities.” Kirihara whistled and elbowed Marui: “Hey, Marui-senpai, do you think they’d make sweets?”  
Marui was spacing out and wasn’t paying attention to what Kirihara had said. Kirihara waved his hand in front of Marui’s eyes and asked: “Hey, are you okay, Senpai?”  
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. What were you saying?” Marui snapped out of his daydreams and asked his kouhai.  
He could feel something weird in this camp. The place was comfortable and looked normal enough, but he could sense something wrong and strange. It was supposed to be summer time but the moment they stepped into the building, Marui felt cold like the air conditioning was on. A thin smell of smoke was lingering in the air. Everyone else didn’t seem to notice and was happily surveying the place.  
“Alright, in order for us to warm up with each other, I’m suggesting we decide our roommates by drawing.” Atobe was holding a can in his hand which was filled with small folded papers.   
“Great idea. I’ll go first.” Shiraishi reached to draw one out of the can, followed by the others.  
“Tezuka, you should draw one.” Oishi said, but Tezuka wasn’t listening. He was looking around the place, frowning.  
“Hey, Tezuka. What’s wrong?” Oishi patted Tezuka on the shoulder.   
“Did you hear that?” Tezuka lowered his voice and asked Oishi: “I hear footsteps.”  
“I don’t hear anything. Must be the workers here. The chef maybe? It’s your turn to draw.” Oishi said.  
Tezuka told himself to stop being paranoid and drew a paper from the can. He unfolded the paper and it wrote: ‘Atobe’. He didn’t know how to react when he saw this name. Atobe is after all a nice guy but he could be pretty annoying at times. Tezuka swore to himself that if Atobe started spraying rose-scented perfume around the room he’d be switching roommates with someone else right away.  
Their room was on the second floor, so they got on the same lift together.  
“Why do you look so gloomy when your roommate is ore-sama?” Atobe asked Tezuka.  
“Is there anyone else in this place?” Tezuka once again ignored Atobe’s nonsense and asked.  
“Yes, three to four workers and chefs. They’re all downstairs.” Atobe explained.  
“They’ve always been downstairs?”  
“For today, yes. They’ve already got the rooms ready yesterday so I’m assuming they don’t come upstairs anymore today.”   
“I see.” Tezuka nodded, lost in his thoughts.   
“What’s wrong?” Marui, who was on the lift, too, asked. He was hoping that he wasn’t the only one who recognized the strange atmosphere.  
“Nothing. Just to make sure.” Tezuka answered, not seeing the need to tell everyone what he felt. He didn’t want anyone to worry.  
Marui could tell that Tezuka was hiding something but decided to keep quiet, hoping that all of it they were sensing was just in their head.  
After entering their respective rooms and tidying up their luggage, they went to the tennis courts and started playing tennis right away. Tezuka couldn’t shake off that unwavering sense of impending disaster that bestowed on him the moment they arrived. The sensation was quite identical with the one he felt two years back, when the portrait of that boy entered his home.


	3. SIGNS

CHAPTER 2- SIGNS  
Atobe asked to play with Tezuka as soon as they entered the courts and Tezuka agreed. The courts were full almost instantly and Marui had to wait for his turn to play with Jirou.  
He watched Yukimura and Fuji play beside the courts and noticed Shiraishi wandering away, slowly approaching the pools, approximately fifty feet away from the tennis courts. Marui was a little concerned so he followed, and tapped Shiraishi on the shoulder: “Hey, what are you doing?”  
“Whoa! You scared the daylights out of me!” Shiraishi jumped and pressed at his chest, taking a deep breath.  
“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. What are you looking at?” Marui looked where Shiraishi was staring at curiously, not seeing anything unusual.  
“It’s so weird… I thought I saw a boy swimming in the pool over here when I was standing near the courts. But when I tried to get closer to have a better look he’s gone.” Shiraishi scratched his head in confusion.  
“A boy?” Marui frowned as he detected that same smell of smoke that had disappeared wafting in the air again. “How strange. Maybe we should go ask Atobe.” Marui tugged on Shiraishi’s sleeve, dreading to stay any minute longer near the pool, far away from everyone else.  
“Yeah.” Shiraishi agreed as he was starting to have goose bumps too.  
As they returned to the courts, Atobe and Tezuka were taking a break from their match and were resting on the benches. Marui seized the opportunity and asked Atobe over the fence: “Hey, is there anyone else here other than us? I mean, like is this place open to visitors already?”  
“No. This place would only be open next year. Like I said before, we’re just here to test-run. Why are you asking?” Atobe took a sip of water.  
“Shiraishi saw a boy swimming in the pool right over there, so we’re just asking to make sure.” Marui pointed at the pools.  
“A boy? It couldn’t be. You must have mistaken.” Atobe told Shiraishi.  
“Yeah. Thought so.” Shiraishi nodded.  
“What’s wrong, Shiraishi?” Tooyama, who was waiting for his turn to play Echizen, asked Shiraishi.  
“Nothing.” Shiraishi didn’t want to freak Tooyama out.  
Tezuka, who was listening quietly, started to feel panic yet again. As much as he tried to ignore everything strange that he sensed, there were a ton of indications that told him that there was something seriously wrong with this place. But he held back the urge to tell the others as he didn’t want to spoil the fun.  
Nothing else happened after that and the day slowly turned into night. The boys took a bath in their rooms and gathered at the dining area to have dinner. The chefs prepared a buffet of delicious cuisines and desserts from all around the world for them to enjoy.  
A variety of colourful and delicious cakes and puddings made Marui forget whatever was in his mind about this place’s queerness as he indulged himself into the delicacy. Tezuka, on the other hand, just couldn’t shake away the ominous presentiment he had and ate absentmindedly, although the food tasted great.  
They had a karaoke after dinner and Tezuka, who couldn’t settle down, decided to walk around and survey the place a bit to see if there was anything out of the ordinary.  
“Where are you going, Tezuka?” Fuji noticed Tezuka leaving the dining area and caught up to him.  
“Nothing, I’m just going to check this place out a bit.” Tezuka answered, quietly wishing that Fuji wouldn’t follow.  
“I’ll tag along.” Fuji said.  
Tezuka sighed secretly, his thoughts contradicting. He didn’t want Fuji to follow because he didn’t want him to worry, but on the other hand he was relieved to have Fuji with him, as he was a little afraid of the idea of exploring this peculiar place all by himself.  
“Why are you so interested in this place? You normally don’t express interest in anything but tennis.” Fuji asked.  
“I do also like fishing and hiking. I like mountains, too.”   
“Yeah, well, I’m pretty sure you’re not interested in exploring large buildings like this. And I’ve realized that you’ve been acting unusual.”  
“I have?” Tezuka asked, surprised that Fuji could see through him.  
“You don’t have to hide anything from me. I can tell. You’re not yourself. Did something happen?”  
After a few seconds of considering, Tezuka finally decided to tell Fuji the truth. Fuji is his closest friend and he was sure Fuji would believe in what he said, and maybe even know what to do.  
“Do you believe in the supernatural, Fuji?” Tezuka questioned as they walked down the tranquil hallway, slightly lit by dim fluorescent lights.  
“Why, of course. I’m always interested in those kind of things. Why are you asking? You don’t look like the kind of people who believes.” Fuji was a little taken aback when he heard Tezuka’s question.  
“I used to be sceptical but something happened two years ago and I’ve no choice but to believe. But none of that is important. What’s important for now is that I could feel something wrong with this place. I think we should get going right away.” Tezuka said gravely.  
“What’s wrong?” Fuji said, worried to see Tezuka acting this way.  
“Nothing’s happened until now but I’ve been sensing something. I have a really bad feeling about this place, but everyone’s having so much fun and I don’t want to kill it.”  
“Could you have mistaken something? I don’t think anyone other than you has felt or seen something.”  
“No, not just me. Shiraishi claimed that he saw a boy in the pool when we were playing tennis in the noon. This whole place is giving me the same feelings I had when something paranormal happened to me two years ago.”  
“You mean, eerie, spooky feelings?”  
“Yeah, something like that.”  
“Look, I understand you’re worried. But I believe that spirits exist in almost every corner of the world and they’re just living in the same place with us. I doubt they’d do anything to us. We’d be fine as long as they aren’t unfriendly. Plus, this place is new, so it’s very likely to have spirits inhabiting the place.” Fuji tried to reassure his friend.  
“So what do you suggest we do?”   
“We’ll check this place out to see if there’s anything going on, and if there isn’t, we’d stay put. Sometimes maybe they’re just poltergeists who like to mess around with us but won’t do any harm. I don’t see a need to leave just like that as we’re only staying for a few days. Do you think this idea would be good?” Fuji suggested.  
“Yeah, fine by me.” Tezuka said: “Let’s start right away.”  
The duo split their ways to scour the place. That spooky feeling intensified even more as it was night time, and Tezuka found himself breathing heavily, his heart racing with fear as he strolled down the hallway, after parting ways with Fuji. He looked straight ahead, praying that nothing would happen. He soon came to a dead end and didn’t see anything. He heaved a sigh of relief and turned back to meet with Fuji.  
He saw Fuji near the resting area and approached: “Fuji, did you find anything?”  
Fuji turned and shook his head, but just when he was about to say something, Tezuka heard Fuji’s voice calling behind him. He froze and turned to see Fuji running towards him from another end of the corridor. He turned back and the Fuji he saw just now was gone.  
Who was it he was talking to just now?  
“Tezuka, who’re you talking to?” Fuji asked.  
“Where were you just now?”  
“I was checking the toilets. Who’re you talking to?”  
“I saw you standing right here!” Tezuka told him, panic-stricken.  
“I wasn’t.” Fuji said, his face pale: “There must really be something here.”  
“We should leave. Let’s tell everyone right away.” Tezuka couldn’t hold the terror in anymore and said.  
“Wait. It’s too late to leave now, there won’t be any more buses to come pick us up. Let’s just stay the night and see what happens.” Fuji advised. “I don’t see the need to tell everyone yet, if something truly dangerous happens, we’ll do so then.”  
“Alright.” Tezuka nodded after a few seconds of hesitation: “You’re right.”  
“Come, let’s go back.” Both of them walked back to the dining area, lost in their own thoughts. The karaoke sound system was still blaring of loud music, and everyone else was still dancing and singing to the music.  
Oshitari was singing in front and they could barely hear his voice as it was too deep. “Where did you guys go?” Kikumaru hopped over to them and wrapped his arm around Fuji.  
“The toilet.” Fuji lied with a straight face.  
“I see. Come on, Fuji! Let’s sing a duet!!” Kikumaru dragged Fuji towards the stage.  
Fuji turned to smile reassuringly at Tezuka and said soundlessly: “It’s going to be okay.”  
Tezuka couldn’t help but nod, his worries not fading away.


	4. THE WARNING

CHAPTER 3-THE WARNING

It was already really late at night when the teenagers finished burning their excessive energy and decided to end the frenzy party.

“What a long night! I’ll hit the sack as soon as we’re back into the room.” Kikumaru said to his roommate, Echizen while they entered the lift.

The boys returned to their rooms, stretching and yawning, ready to rest after a tiring but happy day.

“If anything happens tonight, just come and find me. My room is just opposite yours.” Fuji whispered to Tezuka before entering his room.

“Okay. You stay safe too.” Tezuka reminded.

“What were you guys saying? Something going on?” Atobe asked when Tezuka entered the room after him.

“Nothing.” Tezuka said.            

“You sure? Tell me if there are any problems in this place.” Atobe could tell by his insight that Tezuka was worried about something.

“The place is fine.” Tezuka told him: “I’m just tired.”

“Okay then. Good to know.” Atobe said and crawled into bed.

Tezuka switched off the lights and slipped under the covers, closing his eyes while telling himself to stop thinking and sleep.

“Goodnight.” Atobe said.

“Goodnight.” Tezuka replied.

Atobe was fast asleep within a few minutes, his breathing evident in the silent room. Tezuka looked out the window and couldn’t stop picturing someone appearing there, watching them sleep. He took a deep breath and pulled the curtains shut, once again convincing himself to stop worrying. He finally slipped away after moments.

Meanwhile in Marui and Fuji’s room, Marui was still wide awake, staring at the ceiling fan spinning above him.

He could still smell smoke drifting in the air, and in the midst of total silence, he could make out the faint sounds of someone shouting and groaning in agony. He wasn’t sure if he was hearing things, and resisted the urge to go out and check. Somehow he felt that it would be too dangerous to go out alone at this time of night.

He folded the pillow over his ears, telling himself to fall asleep, but to no avail. After a few minutes of chanting himself to sleep, he heard the door of their room creak open. He looked over to see a figure slip out of the room, leaving the door ajar. The obsolete smell of smoke had unexplainably intensified all of a sudden.

Fuji must have left the room to use the toilet or what. He thought to himself and continued trying to sleep. After a few seconds, his eyes snapped open again. He could hear Fuji breathe behind him, steady cycles of breathing obvious in the room. He inhaled sharply and turned around slowly, totally gripped with fear.

To his dread, Fuji was still sound asleep in bed, staying the way he was. He hadn’t moved. Who was it that left the room? That was when he realized that the toilets are in the room. Fuji wouldn’t have any better reason to leave the room.

The smoky smell was still in the air, strong as ever. He trembled uncontrollably, pondering whether to wake Fuji up or just stay mum. Something was definitely not right with this place. He knew it from the start. He should have trusted his instincts and warned everyone just now so that they wouldn’t have to spend the night here.

There’s something else here. And it’s not friendly at all. He turned to look at the door, which was left ajar by the figure he saw just now, and couldn’t muster the courage to go shut it. After staring at it for a few seconds, a shadow appeared at the gap of the door, seeping into the room.

The figure was tall and skinny, but Marui couldn’t tell whether it was male or female. He tremored violently as the long and black figure stood there motionless. Although he couldn’t see its eyes, he could feel it staring at them rancorously. Marui wanted so bad to wake Fuji up but he didn’t dare to move an inch. He couldn’t do anything but just bury his head into the covers and wishing it would leave soon.

He could feel the unidentified being leave and sure enough, when he peeked at the door, it was gone. He lay in bed, panting after he rushed to shut the door. He knew for sure that he wouldn’t be getting any sleep that night.

The next morning, everyone gathered at the dining area to have breakfast. The buffet had scrambled eggs, scones, and all sorts of delicacies but Marui didn’t have an appetite. He stayed awake for the whole night and obvious dark circles could be seen under his eyes.

“Whoa, Marui-senpai, did you go around and steal things last night?” Kirihara laughed.

Marui eyed Kirihara without saying a word and sat down. As everyone was asking what’s wrong with Marui, Fuji walked over to Tezuka and asked: “So did anything happen?”

“No. I slept well.” Tezuka replied: “You?”

“Me too. But Marui must have seen something.”

“He did? What did he see?”

“He wouldn’t tell. Let’s ask him later after breakfast.”

“Okay.”

Kikumaru suggested to go swim in the pool after breakfast, and as Fuji and Tezuka were about to ask Marui about what happened last night, he came to them himself.

“Hey, Fuji, Tezuka.” He sat down at their table: “You guys know something about this place, right?”

Fuji and Tezuka exchanged looks and Tezuka said: “Actually we don’t, all we know is that there’s something here. Something… paranormal.”

“Yeah. Glad to know that I’m not the only one who sensed something.” Marui nodded and began: “Something happened last night after Fuji fell asleep. I saw someone slip out of the room and I thought it was you.”

“I’m pretty sure I didn’t go out last night.” Fuji said.

“Yeah, I know. It wasn’t you. You were sleeping the whole time. It was someone else… or I should say, something else.”

“How did it look like?” Tezuka asked.

“I don’t know how to describe. It was strangely tall and thin. And it was black all over. It’s so weird.” Marui recalled the figure’s appearance and chills ran down his spine yet again.

“Is it human?” Fuji asked.

“At least its shape looks like human. But I’ve never seen anything that tall.”

Tezuka told Marui what happened last night too when they were singing karaoke, and the three of them came to a conclusion that they certainly couldn’t stay any longer. The haunting presence here was trying to warn them.

“Let’s go tell them now.” Fuji said, and the three of them went to find the others at the pool.

“There you are!” Yukimura saw them approaching and said: “We were wondering what you guys are doing!”

“Yukimura, we have something to tell you guys.” Marui said.

“What is it?” Yukimura saw Marui’s grim face and knew something bad happened. Marui was always smiling and he seldom has expressions like this.

“We believe that this place is haunted and we’re not joking. We should leave right away.” Marui said.

“What? You’re kidding right? I don’t see anything wrong.” Yukimura said, but went silent when he saw Marui’s face. He was dead serious and it was clearly not a joking matter.

“We’re serious, Yukimura. We should leave.” Tezuka said.

“What happened?” Atobe overheard what they were saying and walked over: “You’re saying my place is haunted?”

“Yes, I’m sorry but something did happen last night. We think it’s dangerous to stay.” Fuji told Atobe.

“The place is haunted? Really?” Oshitari widened his eyes and asked.

“That explains the boy I saw yesterday, I guess.” Shiraishi said thoughtfully.

“Hold on, guys, you’re saying something supernatural is going on here? That’s illogical.” Sanada commented.

“I don’t think it’s illogical when Tezuka believes so too.” Inui said, opening his notebook: “Data says that if a place is haunted there would be unexplainable weird smells. Like maybe rotten meat smell, or any smell that’s unusual. Other than that, there would be sudden changes in temperature or electrical charges. And…”

“Alright, stop. I did smell smoke in the air, and the temperature was a bit too cold for summer time.” Marui lifted his hand to stop Inui from talking too much: “But what really convinced me that the place is haunted is what happened last night. I saw a thing. And I’m sure that it’s no human.”

“Are you sure that the place is haunted and not overrun by aliens or monsters?” Kenya asked.

“That would be even more unrealistic than ghosts.” Yanagi said.

“I just wanna know how dangerous the situation is now.” Atobe said.

“I think…” Tezuka began, but was interrupted by Shishido who asked loudly: “Hey, anyone saw Taki?”

“Taki? No. He was here a minute ago.” Oshitari answered.

“He said he’s going to the loo. But we checked the toilets and he wasn’t there.” Ootori said, worried sick.

“Find him. Start searching for him now!” Tezuka said, the ominous feeling swirling in his stomach stronger than ever. Something told him that if they don’t find Taki quick, something bad would happen to him.

The gang split into several teams and searched the whole place. They foraged the whole place but could find no sign of Taki.

“You guys found him?” Atobe asked, when his team and Tezuka’s met in the third floor. His face was pale and he was sweating all over, clearly distressed now that one of his team members was missing.

“No. Not even a trace.” Oishi, who was with Tezuka’s team shook his head.

“Let’s just meet up with the others down the hall and see what they’ve found.” Tezuka suggested.

Atobe nodded, panic depriving him of his wits. He didn’t have a better idea than to follow what Tezuka said.


	5. DISASTER

CHAPTER 4-DISASTER

“Did you guys find him?” Tezuka asked as soon as they saw the others gathering at the hall.

“No.” All of them shook their heads simultaneously, their expressions gloomy.

“How could he have gone missing? Are you guys sure he went to the toilet?” Atobe asked in distraught.

“We’re pretty sure. We were swimming at the pool and he said he has to go to the toilets. We watched him go there! But later, when we realized he’s gone for too long and went to check on him, he wasn’t there!” Shishido described the situation before Taki went missing.

“Did he really get sucked into the toilet bowl?” Kirihara whispered to Marui, and Marui stepped on his foot: “Now’s not a good time to mess around! We’re talking about a matter of life and death here!”

“Come on, guys, let’s not panic.” Fuji said, trying to calm everyone down: “I’ll go ask the chefs and workers here to check if they’ve seen him.”

“Yeah. If we still don’t find him by tonight. We’ll call the cops.” Tezuka agreed.

“And we’ll continue searching. Come on guys!” Atobe said, urging everyone to start moving. They went their separate ways once again to continue the search, while Tezuka and Fuji went to ask the chefs and workers about Taki’s whereabouts.

Neither the chefs nor the workers had seen Taki. It was like he disappeared into thin air. Atobe and the others checked Taki and Yagyuu’s room, but no one was in there. Taki’s luggage stayed the way he left it and not even a clue was present to give them detailed information.

“Now what?” Mukahi asked after they ended their search party.

“Atobe. Could we possibly check the CCTV? I’m sure we’d be able to find something using that.” Shiraishi pointed out.

“Oh yeah! I’ve never thought of that! Let’s go to the control rooms right away!” Atobe clapped his hands together and jumped up.

The boys squeezed into the control rooms and huddled around the computers. They checked the CCTVs installed near the outdoor gents toilets where Taki was last seen. The tape showed Taki entering the toilet but didn’t show him coming out. He went in and never came back out.

“How is this possible?” Shishido exclaimed.

“Was he sucked into a different dimension like those sci-fi movies?” Momoshiro asked.

“Yeah, right.” Kaidoh glared.

“It couldn’t be. He must still be there. He must still be in there!” Atobe said loudly, pushing his way out of the control rooms and heading outside.

The boys exchanged looks and followed Atobe. They advanced towards the toilets where Taki went and checked each and every corner and cubicle. Taki was nowhere to be seen. He vanished.

The boys stood there dumbfounded, not understanding what the hell was going on. Everything that happened was so bizzare that they couldn’t seem to comprehend. How did Taki just disappear like this?

He was there one minute and gone the next. How this could be logically explained?

That was when Atobe came to the realization that Tezuka and the others might be right about this place. There was paranormal activity going on here.

Taki did not reappear even until ten at night. The boys had no choice but to call the cops and ask for help. The cops arrived within an hour and started the investigation right away. The gang were needed for the inspection and they were prohibited to leave the place when the search was still going on.

The boys got called one by one for questioning, and the session went on until midnight. They were finally released and was free to rest. Tired and shaken, they returned to their rooms and took turns to take a bath.

Kikumaru went into the bathroom first and Echizen had to wait outside. He wanted to sleep right away but didn’t want to go to bed without bathing first. Too impatient to wait, he slipped out of the bedroom and decided to go to the public bathhouse instead.

The bathhouse was one floor under their rooms and Echizen entered the lift. No one else came out at that point of the night and the whole floor was dreadfully quiet to the point that his footsteps could be heard echoing.

Echizen thought about what happened to Taki and every frightening incident that he heard people talking about. Taki’s disappearance had obviously terrorized everyone including Echizen. The whole incident was just too scary and unexplainable.

And now, walking all alone on this quiet corridor, made the whole deal all the more frightening,

He took a deep breath and clutched onto his towel and clothes tightly, telling himself that there was nothing to be afraid of. He’d just take a real quick bath and return to his room.

He hummed a song to calm himself down and he finally reached the bathhouse. Steaming hot water caused enshrouding mist in the whole area, blurring Echizen’s sight. He put his things beside the bathing pool before entering. Hot and soothing water surrounded him and drained away his anxiety, relieving him of the slight soreness in his muscles after a whole worked up day.

He exhaled comfortably, completely relaxed as he leaned back and closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth. The bathhouse was so silent that he could only hear water.

After bathing for some time, he decided to return and started wading his way to the side of the bathing pool. But after just one step, his ankle was gripped by someone under the water. The feeling was so obvious that he could feel that someone’s fingers tightly clutching onto him, the nails digging into his flesh, flashes of pain stimulating his nerves.

He looked down into the water but the steam was blocking his view. He couldn’t see who was grabbing him. No. It couldn’t be a ‘who’. It must be a ‘what’. No one had entered the bathhouse other than him. He was all alone here. The cognition of a paranormal being gripping him caused him extreme fear and he started struggling with all his might, his heart beating rapidly like he’d just run a marathon. But the force was too strong and continued tugging at his foot, after some time, his legs gave way and he stumbled, submerging into the water. He choked on the water and gasped for breath, only to suck in more water.

He could feel every inch of air being sucked out of his body as the water swarmed down into his lungs, causing a surge of intense pain. He began thrashing his arms and legs about, hoping to gain leverage but the more he struggled for air, the deeper he pulled himself down into the water. His muscles ached in protest as he kicked and crawled desperately.

This was it. He thought to himself. Slowly, his body gave up fighting for life and he sank feebly into the water, his mind blank, not even sure if the hand was still grabbing onto him or not. As he thought his life was coming to an end, someone grabbed him on the arms and pulled him onto the surface. His head emerged onto the surface and he opened his mouth instinctively to gasp for air, coughing hard, his breath agonizingly painful and short. He was too dazzled to even feel relieved that he was saved.

Tezuka dragged him out of the water, patting his back as he vomited out the gushes of water he swallowed. He was dripping wet all over and despite the high temperature in the bathhouse, he was shivering, disorientated and scared.

“What are you doing here? Don’t you know it’s dangerous to wander alone here?” Tezuka lectured. Fuji and Atobe were beside him, too.  They were chatting outside their rooms when they heard the odd noises of water splashing from the bathhouse. They rushed to check and was shocked to see Echizen drowning. Luckily, Tezuka managed to jump into the water to save him before he passed out.

“Are you okay?” Fuji asked, worried. Echizen’s face was pale and his eyes without focal, his heart was hammering onto his chest and his stomach churning. He didn’t know what to say or how to react after this episode of extreme fear.

“Give him some time. He hasn’t recovered yet.” Atobe said, draping Echizen’s towel over his shoulders.

After minutes of complete silence, Echizen said shakily: “I was bathing here and I felt someone grab my foot… this foot.” He pointed at his ankle, which was still engulfed in scorching pain.

“Whoa!” Fuji exclaimed, horrified. Dark red bruises shaped like someone’s fingers could be clearly seen on his ankle.

“I struggled but got pulled under water… I don’t know who it was…” Echizen told them, still deeply terrified, as he clutched onto Tezuka’s arm, seeking secure.

“Stop thinking about it. Let’s get you back to your room. You’re okay.” Tezuka reassured, helping Echizen up. Echizen stood up laboriously, his whole body limp and weak. They sent him back to his room where Kikumaru was waiting.

“There you are! Where’d you go?” Kikumaru said as soon as they entered the room. He stopped speaking when he saw Echizen’s face, which was haggardly ashen. He knew something had happened: “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“He drowned in the bathhouse.” Atobe explained: “Also his ankle is injured. Could you get the first aid kit out? It should be in the closet.”

Kikumaru nodded instantly and rushed to get the kit. Fuji applied medicine onto Echizen’s ankle and rubbed at it to dissipate the bruise. Echizen groaned, his face scrunching in pain.

“How did he get this?” Kikumaru stared at the discoloured stain on his ankle.

“He said someone grabbed him in the bath pool.” Tezuka answered.

“What?”

“We can’t stay here.” Echizen muttered.

“I know,” Tezuka said: “But we can’t leave just yet. The search for Taki-kun is still going on.”

“This place is so scary… what exactly happened here?” Kikumaru turned to ask Atobe, who understands the place the most.

“I’m pretty sure my pops researched the place before and the history looks normal enough. That’s why he bought this place. He does things carefully. There couldn’t be a mistake.” Atobe said.

“Listen, guys,” Tezuka stated: “Let’s not leave our rooms or stay alone at night. It would be too dangerous if something happens. Let’s just stay in our rooms and try to get some sleep. I’m sure we’d be fine.”

“Okay,” They all nodded in agreement.


	6. The Vision

CHAPTER 5-VISION  
The eerie darkness of that night kept everyone in their bedrooms. Yagyuu, who was left alone after his roommate when missing, spent the night in Marui and Fuji’s room. Neither of the boys could sleep as what happened during the day left them too worried and afraid to relax.  
The vast expanse of jet black surrounded the whole area, and not even one star could be seen, like it was a sign to them that they were marooned and trapped in this dark realm. Tezuka and Atobe lay awake in their beds, reminiscing Taki’s disappearance and Echizen’s accident. The marks on Echizen’s ankle were of someone’s hand, but it couldn’t be as he was alone in the bathhouse at that time.  
Everything just couldn’t be explained with science.  
After speculating for what felt like minutes, Tezuka finally started to feel the drowsiness kicking in to his senses. He was exceptionally tuckered out after a long and stressful day, as he started drifting off to sleep, he heard someone calling his name.  
“Tezuka.” The voice echoed, dragging his consciousness from the brink of shutting down. He forced his eyelids open and recognized it was Atobe’s voice, calling out to him in the dark, from the door of their room.  
What is Atobe doing outside? Tezuka thought while pushing himself out of bed and striding towards the door to check what was Atobe up to.  
Suddenly, he felt someone grabbing his wrist tightly, the force pulling him back. He turned and was shocked to see Atobe sitting on his bed, grabbing Tezuka’s wrist, the alarm evident in his deep blue eyes in the midst of this pitch black surrounding.  
“No, don’t go.” Atobe said, his voice quivering: “I heard that too.”  
The thing was actually mimicking Atobe’s voice to lure Tezuka out. And if he really did fall into its trap, no one could predict what could happen. Fear drained colour away from Tezuka’s face as the both of them stared at each other, trying to calm down. It was utterly quiet outside, and whoever or whatever was calling for Tezuka just now was gone.  
“Get some sleep.” Atobe said after making sure there were no more threats.  
Tezuka crawled back under the covers and closed his eyes, finally falling asleep.  
Suddenly, he was back at home. He looked around in bewilderment, not able to figure out what was going on. The last minute he was in his room with Atobe and now he was back in his own room. He was sitting on his bed, and he could recognize the bed sheets were of a very different but familiar style. The current bed sheet he was using was plain blue without any pattern, and the one he was looking at had all sorts of shapes on it. It was so very familiar, like it was from a long time ago…  
In a flash, the memory rushed back into his mind and he cringed. This bedsheet was the exact same from when he was thirteen years old, the one he used to cover himself with the very night the little boy in that portrait came to live. He started hyperventilating while he could feel his heart pounding rapidly against his chest. All the fear he went through that night seemed to come back to him all of a sudden, and he clenched his jaw, alert to any impending disaster.  
He heard his mother calling for him outside the door, her voice weak and distraught, like she was exerting all her energy to force the faintest sound out. He bolted out of the room and saw his mother on the floor, laying in a pool of blood. The absolute horror he felt when he saw his mother dying paralyzed him, and as he stood there helplessly he saw his father and grandfather too, their limbs bent in horrifically unnatural angles, their heads tilted, their faces grotesquely purple.  
His legs became flaccid as he knelt down, cold sweat running all over his body. He didn’t know what to do. He wanted to cry for help, but when he opened his mouth nothing came out. The strong, disgusting odour of blood nauseated him and he fought back the urge to throw up. Someone walked up to him and he didn’t even have the strength to look up.  
The person stood in front of him, towering over him, his shadow looming over his. The sense of oppression was unbearable and Tezuka lifted his head- there he was, the boy of his nightmares, a cold, distorted grin widely spread across his chalky face, his eyes glimmering under the shade of his cap. He was clutching a blood stained knife, the blood dripping onto the floor, forming a small puddle.  
Slowly, he lifted the knife, the tip of the knife shining under the moonlight which creeped in from the curtains. Tezuka closed his eyes tightly, awaiting his death.  
“Tezuka! Tezuka!” Someone shouted. The voice was distant, echoing, and Tezuka wasn’t sure where it was coming from.  
“Tezuka! Wake up!” the voice exclaimed, and all at once, Tezuka opened his eyes and he was back in his room with Atobe, the sun already shining in through the windows, the warmth casting upon him telling him that it was all a nightmare.  
“Are you okay?” Atobe repeated when Tezuka did not answer: “You look ill. Your face is pale. You were groaning and twisting in your sleep.”  
“I’m fine.” Tezuka touched his face and it was wet with cold sweat. His shirt was damp too.  
“You sure?” Atobe glanced at him in concern as his face was still powdered, with beads of sweat on it.  
“Yeah. I just… had a bad dream.” A very real bad dream. He thought to himself.  
He called his parents after brushing his teeth and changing. He waited for what felt like an eternity for them to pick up, eager to know if they were okay. He clutched his mobile nervously as he could hear his heartbeat. Finally they picked up and asked what the matter was for ringing this early in the morning.  
“Hey, Mom. It’s me. Just wanted to check if you guys are fine.”  
“Why, of course we are, Kunimitsu. What do you mean?” his mother, Tezuka Ayano asked in confusion.  
“Nothing. Just wanna make sure.” He heaved a sigh of relief secretly. “Bye.”  
He hung up and met Atobe’s questioning eyes. “Did something happen at home?”  
“No, no. I just had a nightmare and was worried. They’re fine.”  
“Alright then, let’s get going and have breakfast.”  
They arrived at the dining area and the lively atmosphere that used to linger yesterday was gone. Everyone was munching down quietly on their food, immersed in their own thoughts.  
The police arrived again minutes after they finished their breakfast to continue the inspection. The boys didn’t feel up to having fun anymore and idled around aimlessly, chatting to each other or just keeping quiet.  
The police informed them that search and rescue teams were sent to places nearby the area to search for Taki, and reassured them that they would find Taki in no time. But those who believed that the place was haunted didn’t think it was that simple. They knew Taki was maybe abducted by something seriously hazardous.  
Fuji and Tezuka wandered out near the pool, strolling beside it, chatting.  
“So what did you go through that made you believe in the supernatural?” Fuji asked, looking at the still surface of the pool.  
“I don’t think you’d believe my experience. It’s just too unrealistic.”  
“I’d believe in anything you say, Tezuka. You don’t have a reason to lie, don’t you?”  
“… …It happened two years back…” Tezuka began after hesitating for a while: “My parents brought a portrait home and said they’re going to sell it for their friend.”  
Tezuka told Fuji the whole story of how the boy in the portrait came to live and was hunting for him, and how the boy suddenly disappeared, and of his nosebleed with no reason.  
“Nosebleed?” Fuji tilted his head: “The protagonists in sci-fi movies often bleed from their noses when they use their super powers. It’s usually a side effect the power implies on their bodies because the impact is too big. And you did mention that the boy disappeared after you felt that weird zapping pain in your head. You might really have some powers. Maybe you made that boy go away with your powers.”  
“My story is already bizzare. And now your thoughts are more out of the box.”  
“It’s possible, you know.” Fuji protested: “I believe that anything is possible now that things like these are happening around us.”  
They were still sauntering near the pool, and as Tezuka was about to reply him, Fuji stopped dead in his tracks abruptly, his eyes focused on one direction, the colour draining away from his face as his pupils widened.  
“Fuji?” Tezuka realized that Fuji was acting unusual and asked: “Hey, what’s wrong?”  
Without saying a word, Fuji sprinted towards the pool, just a few feet away from them, and leapt into it, splashing frantically around in it while shouting: “Yuuta! Yuuta!”  
Tezuka knows that Yuuta is Fuji’s younger brother, but he wasn’t here. He studies in St. Rudolph and wasn’t invited to the camp. He dashed forward and saw Fuji waddling in the water, his arms thrashing around erratically in the empty pool. It seemed like he was trying to reach something that couldn’t be seen.  
“Fuji! Fuji!” Tezuka instantly knew, somehow, what had gotten into him.  
Fuji ignored Tezuka’s calls and continued flailing his arms around in the pool, splashing water everywhere, causing endless ripples on the pool which was once still.  
“Fuji!” Tezuka yelled, and stretched his arm out to grab Fuji: “Look at me! Yuuta isn’t here!”  
Fuji snapped out of it and finally stopped moving around before turning his head gradually to look at Tezuka. His eyes were hollow and unfocused, and he was panting slightly.  
“Yuuta isn’t here. You remember?” Tezuka explained patiently as he slowly pulled Fuji to the side of the pool, helping him out. Fuji crawled out of the pool and sat down beside Tezuka, soaking wet, debilitated. He stared blankly into space, still not recovering from what he saw just now.  
“You’re seeing things, Fuji. It looks real, I know. But it isn’t. I saw visions like that too last night when I was asleep. It was so real.” Tezuka comforted him, patting his back.  
Fuji squeezed Tezuka’s arm and said, his voice cracking: “I saw Yuuta in the water. He was floating and motionless. He looks like he’s dead… his skin is ghostly white… it’s so frightening…”  
“I know. It’s just a hallucination. Those things here… I believe that they’re making us see these visions so that they could lure us closer to their world. We can’t let them succeed. We must stay strong.” Tezuka told him.  
Fuji, terribly unnerved, started to cry, as tears trickled down his wet face. He pressed his head against Tezuka’s shoulder and sobbed into his shirt. Tezuka stiffened for a bit but wrapped his arms around Fuji after a few seconds, giving him the reassurance he needed. He understands how much Yuuta means to Fuji.


	7. The History

CHAPTER 6-THE HISTORY  
Marui was resting on the couch in the resting area along with a few other people. He was so exhausted and sleepy but didn’t dare to return to his room alone.  
Yagyuu was assisting the search and Fuji was nowhere to be seen, so Marui chose to rest on the couch beside Shiraishi. Shiraishi was reading a book on the couch and when he saw Marui coming near, he scooted to the side a bit to make room for him.  
“You okay?” Shiraishi asked.  
“I’m good. Just real tired.” Marui chuckled and replied, slumping on the couch, closing his eyes.  
“Get some rest.” Shiraishi understood that he’s physically and mentally fatigue. All of them were.  
Marui said nothing and felt his consciousness ebb away gradually. But as he was sinking into a deep sleep, he heard something. Distant, anguish cries were echoing around him, and the sound of flames crackling. The temperature started going up in a fast pace and Marui could feel himself sweating heavily.   
“Help!”  
“Help me!”   
“Please! No!”  
Strange and unfamiliar yells kept on rushing into his ears. The cries were shrill and filled with pain, like they were going through a brutal tragedy.  
Suddenly, Marui found himself standing in the middle of a burning building. The whole place was smouldering in the fire, smoke blinding his eyes and making his eyes water. The scorching heat caused his skin to tingle in pain as he looked around. Black, skinny figures were sprawled all over the floor in front of him, their bodies emitting thick smoke, their twig like fingers scratching on the floor while they twisted and squirmed morbidly.  
The screams were coming from these figures. They reached their crooked arms towards Marui, begging for help, black ashes falling from their crusted skin.  
With a yell, Marui sprang up from the couch, breathing heavily. All the other boys in the resting area turned to look at him.  
“What’s wrong?”  
“A bad dream?”  
They asked in concern, and Marui took a deep breath before saying: “I’m sorry. I’m fine. Just too stressed out.” He left the area to grab a glass of water from the machine nearby. Shiraishi followed and asked him quietly: “What did you dream of?”  
Marui watched the water fill the cup and said: “I think I kind of know what’s happened here.”  
“What?”  
“I think there was a fire. A real big one and it killed everyone. But I don’t know who they are. They’re all black.” Marui took a big sip of water.  
“How did you know?”  
“… …I don’t think you’d believe me but I have the ability. To see the scene, of a tragedy that’s happened in a certain place.” Marui told him slowly.  
“Wow. You’ve had it since you were young?” Shiraishi believed what he said.  
“I guess so.” Marui said, his voice hoarse.  
He thought back to the day he first discovered that he had this power. As a kid, he grew up in a small town in Los Angeles. He had forgotten what the name of that place was since he moved with his family back to Japan at the age of eight.  
Since he was four years old, he’d heard about this tragedy that happened in their small town, which led to cancellation of Halloween celebrations. Three young boys were killed on a Halloween night and their bodies were thrown in a bush beside the street. The three boys’ eyes, nose and ears were missing when their corpses were discovered.  
The police tried their best to find the murderer but failed eventually, and the murderer was still scot free.  
Legend has it that the ghosts of the three boys would still be seen every Halloween after that year. They’d be seen in the costumes they wore before their death, dressed respectively as a Vampire, a Mummy and a Werewolf. They’d carry lanterns with a creepy green hue and go trick or treating at every house, and if the owner of the house refused to give them candy, they’d lunge forward and eat away the person’s eyes, ears and nose.  
The incident bestowed fear upon everyone in that town, and the adults cancelled the annual Halloween celebration, for fear they’d become the boys’ target. Every year on Halloween night, their town, unlike other towns, would shut their doors and windows, the streets dark and lifeless instead of illuminating the place with festive lights.  
Marui and his brothers, along with all the other young kids living in that town had protested for a number of times, upset that other kids got to celebrate Halloween and they had to hide in their houses. But their parents never once gave in, protective of their children.   
After two years of being grounded for Halloween night, Marui, who was really playful at the age of seven, suggested to his twin brothers that they sneak out from their bedroom window. They did so that night and creeped out to play on the streets, having the time of their lives even though the street was completely desolated.  
They wandered from the street they stayed to another street, and when they passed one of the houses, Marui saw something. He saw the three boys, their ears, eyes and nose still present, knocking on that door, saying ‘Trick or Treat’ cheekily.  
They look so alive, like it was the scene before they died. All of a sudden, his brothers were gone. He was all alone on the cold, dim street, looking at the three boys. The door to that house swung open and a woman stepped out, smiling nicely at them, and after handing them candies, the woman invited them into the house.   
The scene changed, and he was in the house, watching the whole incident unfold. The woman was grinning happily as the boys turned feeble on the couch, paralyzed. Marui didn’t know what happened to them. As the boys completely lost mobility, the woman took a knife out, and began cutting their eyes, nose and ears away from their head.  
Marui watched as the boys twitched around in agony, crying and screaming. Thick and sticky blood spilled everywhere and Marui felt his stomach tumble like a dryer. He covered his mouth tightly, stifling the urge to throw up.  
He knew the mystery. He knew what happened. He knew that this woman was the murderer.  
“Brother!” he heard one of his brothers, Junta calling out.  
He opened his eyes again and the vision was gone. The boys, the woman, the blood. Everything had disappeared. He’s back on the streets, and his two brothers were kneeling in front of him, concerned.  
“You okay?” Shouta asked.  
“You look sick.” Junta agreed.  
“I don’t feel well. Let’s go home.” Marui stood up wobbly and said, his voice raspy and weak, chills running all over his body.  
He lived in fear for another year in that town, and luckily, they moved back to Japan when he was eight years old. This scary memory haunted him for three years until he finally adjusted to life in Japan and started to put it behind him.  
The memory wasn’t gone but tucked up deep in his mind, and now everything that was unfolding around him dug the memory out, forcing him to recall it again.  
“Wow. You didn’t tell your parents?” Shiraishi asked after hearing Marui’s story.  
“No. I didn’t even tell my brothers. They just thought I had a stomach bug. I don’t think anyone would believe me.” Marui replied, lowering his head.  
“But you know who murdered the boys.”  
“Yes. But I have no proof. I kept quiet instead.”  
“You should give it a shot, actually.”  
“I know. But I was too young. I couldn’t have known better. None of that matters now that it’s been eight years, and what’s important now is to find Taki, and get out of here.”  
Shiraishi nodded in agreement: “Yeah. You’re right.”  
“By the way, you said you saw a boy in the pool.”  
“Yes.”  
“You’re sure it’s a boy, and not some dark figure with long limbs, like the ones I saw?”  
“I’m sure it’s a boy. He looks just like a normal boy from far. He didn’t look any weird.”  
“Could you describe him?”  
“It was too far away so I can’t really tell his facial features but I could see that he’s wearing a red cap. Strange, right? I mean, who wears a cap while swimming?”  
“Huh. It is strange.”


	8. THREAT

CHAPTER 7-THREAT  
After phoning Yuuta and making sure he’s safe and annoying him, Fuji felt a lot better. Tezuka accompanied him back into the building to change into dry clothes.  
“Sorry for breaking down like that, Tezuka.” Fuji apologized for losing control. He felt quite embarrassed to cry on Tezuka’s shoulder.  
“It’s okay, really.” Tezuka replied.  
“Speaking of which, you do have a warm hug.” Fuji turned to smile at Tezuka, who was walking behind him.  
Tezuka didn’t say anything but just lifted the corner of his lips a bit, smiling back.  
“Where’re your roommates?” Tezuka asked as soon as they exited the lift onto the floor they stayed.  
“No idea. I think I saw Marui just now. At the resting area.” Fuji said.  
“I’ll wait for you outside here. If anything happens, call for help.” Tezuka stopped in front Fuji and Marui’s room.  
“Yeah, okay.” Fuji entered the room and shut the door. “Seriously though, Tezuka, Relax, what’s gonna happen when I’m only changing for a bit?”  
“I’m just saying, don’t let your guard down.”  
“Yeah, I know. I’ll be done in a sec.” Fuji closed the door.  
He took some clothes out from the closet and started changing. He took off his shirt, which was drenched wet after changing his pants, but as he was going to put on the dry shirt, the lights started flickering suddenly before it died down. The room became dim and the only source of light was from the window, where the sunlight was shining in.  
Fuji was shocked for a bit but shrugged, guessing it was just a regular electricity problem. He continued changing but a sudden surge of excruciating pain streaked down on his back as a warm, liquid substance started dribbling down. He grimaced and turned, spotting a dark, tall, and skinny figure behind him.  
The thing ascended over him, its long, twig like fingers cracking as it flexed them, fresh gooey blood dripping from them. Fuji’s eyes enlarged as he retreated his steps, trembling with fear. The curtains dropped down and the room sank into total darkness, denying him the only light source.  
“Tezuka!” Fuji finally found his voice after minutes, reaching to turn the doorknob, but it won’t budge, like it was locked. He banged on the door desperately, breathing rapidly and heavily.  
“What’s wrong, Fuji?!” Tezuka could hear the alarm in his voice and asked nervously.  
“Something’s in here! Get me out of here!” Fuji hammered down on the door with his fists, sensing the thing getting nearer and nearer, almost breathing on his back. The warm blood ran down his back, dripping on the floor as the injury caused intense gnawing pain.  
Tezuka gripped on the doorknob and rattled it: “It’s locked!”  
“No! It’s not! It just won’t budge for some reason!” Fuji yelled.  
“Hang on! Hang on!” Tezuka shouted, retracing his steps: “Get away from the door!”  
Fuji moved away from the door and in the corner of his eye, he saw the chair at the corner of the room float up, hovering in the air.  
“Tezuka! Hurry!” Fuji grabbed a pillow from the bed, the only thing present that could possibly shield him from the attack.  
Tezuka inhaled deeply and sprang forward like a tightly coiled spring that was released. He turned his body sideways and crashed onto the door with his right shoulder. The door flung open with the impact, and as the hovering chair shot over to Fuji, Tezuka reached to grab him and dragged him away in time. The chair crashed into the wall and was broken to pieces, inches away from Fuji.  
They both sat down on the floor, wheezing, still in a state of shock. Tezuka recognized wet and sticky stains on Fuji’s back, and a tinge of bloody scent and frowned: “Hey. What’s wrong with your back?”  
The injury started stinging again now that he’d relaxed and he winced in pain: “I think that thing scratched me.”  
“What thing? That thing inside?”  
“Yeah. It looks like human but… you know, just like Marui had described.”  
“Let me see.” Tezuka lifted his shirt and gasped slightly: “This doesn’t look good. Let’s go downstairs and have it cleaned.” There were three long gashes, so deep that Tezuka could see the damaged tissues. Blood was oozing from the wound slowly but heavily. The injury needed immediate treatment to prevent infection.  
Fuji nodded and Tezuka helped him up, both of their legs shaking, still frightened. They arrived at the resting area and Tezuka asked Atobe: “Is there an infirmary in this place?”  
“Yes, just over the corner. What happened?” Atobe could recognize that Fuji’s gait was a little weird.  
“He hurt his back. Anyone knows how to treat an injury properly?” Tezuka looked around. He knew a little bit about the basics but the wound was just too big for an amateur.  
“I can do it.” Oshitari stood up and they went to the infirmary. Oshitari had Fuji sit down on the chair and lifted his shirt, revealing the dreadful laceration.  
Everyone gasped and exclaimed when they saw the wound.  
“Oh my goodness!”  
“What did that?”  
“Fuji, what happened?”  
“I was in the room, changing,” Fuji told them, trying hard to ignore the sting as Oshitari treated his injury: “And then there was this thing, tall and thin, and it was black all over. I think it slashed me or something. It even turned off the lights, rolled down the curtains and caused a chair to fly over to me. I think it’s that thing who is haunting this place.”  
“That’s so scary!” Kikumaru said, staring at the gaping wound.  
“I think we should really leave. Our lives are at bay.” Shiraishi said.  
“I’m not leaving before we find Taki.” Mukahi crossed his arms: “I don’t care how much this thing is trying to scare us away, I’m gonna stay until Taki is found.”  
“Things.” Marui whispered. Mukahi turned to ask him: “What’d you say?”  
“Things. There’s a lot of them. We’re in danger. Grave danger.”  
“You’ve seen more of them?” Shishido asked.  
“Yes. Lots and lots of them.” Marui replied.  
Oshitari bandaged Fuji’s wound and said: “Alright then. This shall do. Try not to let the injury touch water.”  
“Alright. Thanks.”  
“The thing is, guys, if we can’t leave this place just yet, how are we going to deal with…these disasters.” Yanagi regarded Fuji’s wound.  
“I say we hunt them down and kill them.” Niou smiled.  
“I think that’s a good idea.” Zaizen agreed with him.  
“No, that’s too risky. How do you hunt those things? We’re not ghostbusters.” Marui frowned.  
“Marui has a point here.” Oishi said.  
“I say we just get through each day safely and try to avoid triggering them. Just make sure we stay safe and sound until the day we could leave.” Tezuka suggested, and majority of the boys nodded in agreement.  
Night came and the boys returned to their rooms. It was a sleepless night, everyone huddled together in their rooms and chatted quietly, watching out for dangers. Everything that had happened rang alarm in their hearts and their emotions were stretched so thin that they could no longer relax.  
“Is this your first encounter with something paranormal?” Atobe asked, staring at the ceiling of their room.  
“No.” Tezuka, who was sitting on the side of the bed, alert to threats, replied.  
“Me too.” Atobe said softly: “I saw a spirit of my grandmother, when I was ten years old.”  
“Were you scared back then?”  
“No. I mean, she’s my grandma. I won’t be scared of her even though she’s a ghost. I saw her smile at me in my bedroom, and then the next minute she vanished. It’s like she’s never been there. I think she’s saying goodbye.” Atobe’s eyes filled with sorrow as he talked about it: “You? What did you see?”  
“I saw a boy. It came out of a portrait that my dad brought home, intending to sell it. The portrait is haunted. I’ve not been able to get him out of my head since then. I think I still see him, sometimes. He’s my greatest fear.” Tezuka said, almost seeing the boy’s silhouette when he closed his eyes.  
“Did he appear in your dreams, last night?”   
“Yes. Yes he did.”  
“And you’re still scared?”  
“Yes. It’s some kind of weird, crippling fear I’d feel each time I see him. He’s gone since then but he still haunts me sometimes.”  
“You should just overcome it. You know, face your fears and stop running away from it. That way you could get rid of the nightmares.”  
“Yeah. I know. I’ll try.”  
“Huh. So a guy like you is scared of something too.” Atobe said, interested.  
“I’m human too, you know? What are you scared of?”  
“Me?” Atobe sat up, and said: “I guess I’m just scared to see the people around me get hurt. Like, how Taki went missing. It just… scares me a lot.”  
“We’ll find him. I’m sure he’s okay.” Tezuka reassured.  
“Hope so.” Atobe nodded.


	9. POLTERGEIST

CHAPTER 8-POLTERGEIST  
“Are you sure we’re doing this?” Kirihara asked his roommate, Zaizen, who was marching in front of him.  
“Yup.” Zaizen answered without turning his head.  
“I really think we should head back though.” Kirihara hugged his arms, feeling cold. The whole place was thoroughly silent and creepy. Everyone was in their rooms.  
“What? Stop being a wuss.”  
“I’m not a wuss. It’s not safe. Tezuka-san did warn us not to leave our rooms once night comes. You know, spirits tend to lurk at night.” Kirihara protested.  
“Yeah, and screw what he says. That’s exactly why we’re doing this now.” Zaizen walked down the stairs that lead to the first floor. “If you’re so worried why did you follow?”  
“… …” Kirihara refused to admit that he was scared to stay in the room alone.  
“Why did you bring an Ouija board?” Kirihara asked: “Like who the hell brings Ouija boards for holiday?”  
“I just think it’s fun, and didn’t think it’d come in handy.” Zaizen shrugged.  
“Fun? It’s dangerous. Not fun.” Kirihara said in disbelief.  
They arrived the storeroom and stopped in their tracks.  
“What do we need again?” Kirihara asked.  
“Candles. White ones.” Zaizen rolled his eyes.  
“Oh, yeah. Like should we really do this? Let’s just go.” Kirihara tried to talk Zaizen out of it once more.  
“Shut up. If you’re not going to help, just go back yourself.” Zaizen snapped and opened the door to the storeroom.  
“Fine.” Kirihara sighed. He wanted so bad to return but didn’t have the guts to do so alone, so he went along with Zaizen: “Huh. It’s not locked.”  
“Good.” Zaizen switched on the lights and entered: “Let’s start searching for white candles.”  
The two boys rummaged the place for white candles and finally found a box at the bottom of the racks.  
“Ah hah! There you are.” Zaizen said happily, kneeling down and taking the whole box.  
“Alright, let’s go.” Kirihara rushed him, eager to leave this place and back into the safety of their room.  
Zaizen stood up and followed Kirihara out of the storeroom. But as he was about to step out of the door, the light bulb above them burst and shattered into pieces, and at the same time, the door slammed shut, locking Zaizen in.  
Kirihara jumped and shouted: “Zaizen! Zaizen!”  
“Open the door!” Zaizen yelled back nervously in the total darkness. He couldn’t see anything but the dim light seeping in from the gap of the door.  
“I’m trying! It won’t open!” Kirihara said, panicked.  
“Ugh!! Damn it!” Zaizen kicked the door angrily.  
All of a sudden, he felt something grip his shoulder, sharp nails piercing into his flesh. He shouted in pain and knelt down, and then he was hurled by a force to the wall, his back bashing onto it. Before he could slip down onto the floor, something grasped his neck, choking him. He could feel drips of blood coming out of his neck, where the thing’s nails were jamming into it.  
“Zaizen! Zaizen! Are you okay in there?” Kirihara banged on the door, twisting and turning the doorknob with all his might, panic-stricken. Zaizen wasn’t answering any of his calls. Something bad must have happened to him.  
I must call for help! Kirihara thought to himself and attempted to rush back upstairs to get help, but he felt something grab the collar of his shirt, and pulled him onto the ground, dragging him to the corridor. The thing yanking him was so strong that he couldn’t break free, he tried clutching onto things to break free but to no avail. He was hauled all over the place, running into things, and had cuts and bruises all over him in no time.  
“Help! Help! Someone! Please!” the collar went taut on his neck and he could barely breathe. All he could do was scream for help.  
Meanwhile in the storeroom, Zaizen was seized on the neck, the thing showed no mercy and was really trying to kill him. He could feel the oxygen in his body run out bit by bit as the force on his neck grow tighter, squeezing his airways. He kicked weakly, but soon stopped, too drained out to move. He could feel his consciousness drift away…  
Marui, who was chatting to Fuji and Yagyuu, stopped talking abruptly and sat still: “Wait. I think I hear something.”  
“What?” Fuji asked.  
“Someone is shouting.” Marui said, listening hard to the distant noise.  
“It’s Kirihara!” Yagyuu exclaimed when he heard it too.  
“Oh gosh. I think he’s in trouble.” Fuji heard his cries of distress.  
“Let’s go!” Marui jumped up from the bed and sped out of the room, with Yagyuu and Fuji following him. Sanada, Yukimura, Tezuka along with Atobe were rushing to where Kirihara was, too, after hearing his shrieks,  
“What is that idiot doing downstairs?!” Sanada said crossly.  
The scene they saw when they arrived the first floor left them stunned. Kirihara was tugged all over the place by an unseen force, and the speed was crazily fast. Atobe was the first to react as he streaked forward, plunging himself onto the floor and clasped Kirihara’s foot, trying to stop the thing.  
“Hey! A little help here!” Atobe’s strength just wasn’t enough and they were soon both being mowed around. The others charged forward too and they all gripped onto Kirihara, pressing hard on the floor, but the thing was surprisingly strong, lugging all of them around.  
Tezuka clutched onto Kirihara’s arm, lifting his head to stare at the empty space where that invisible entity was supposed to be, pulling on Kirihara’s collar.  
He’s so done with these things. And he’s done being afraid of them.  
“Let him go!” He shouted, and all of a sudden, Kirihara’s collar loosened and he gasped for breath, coughing. Whatever that was grasping him was gone.  
Everyone was panting heavily and terribly wearied.   
“Huh, somehow that works.” Atobe said and looked at Tezuka impressively.  
“I guess they’re scared of Tezuka.” Yukimura joked.  
Sanada scolded: “You idiot! What’re you doing here!? Don’t you know it’s dangerous?!”  
“Save Zaizen!” Kirihara shouted as soon as he found his breath.  
“Zaizen? What’s with him?”  
“He’s in the storeroom! Save him! He’s in trouble!” Kirihara said.  
They darted towards the storeroom and called for Zaizen, but it was dead silent in there. They became increasingly worried but the door was locked from the inside. When Tezuka and Atobe were about to force the door open by banging onto it, Marui took a bat out of nowhere and said: “Out of the way!”  
With a strong blow, the lock was slammed broken and the door creaked open. The thing choking Zaizen let go all at once and he slid down onto the floor, coughing and wheezing hardly. He really thought he was going to die as his bleary eyes slowly regained focus and the intense pain on his neck alleviated eventually.  
“What are the both of you doing out here in the dead of night?!” Sanada began lecturing right away.  
Atobe turned and noticed that Tezuka was bleeding from the nose: “Hey, you okay? You’re bleeding.”  
Tezuka wiped his nose and realized that he was indeed bleeding. There’s that slight twinging pain in his head again. The same one he felt two years back on the night that boy entered his room. He hadn’t felt it for two years and now it’s back. Deep down he was petrified that this was a sign that the boy would be back to haunt him.  
“I’m…fine. I guess.” Tezuka said.  
“It’s not that the thing is scared of you.” Fuji said thoughtfully: “You did have some kind of power, Tezuka.”  
“Fuji, stop. I do not have any powers…” Tezuka began to tell Fuji to cut it out. How in the world would he have super powers? This is not some kind of sci-fi movie.  
“Then how do you explain that after that thing let go of Kirihara, you begin bleeding from the nose?”  
“Maybe it’s just like what Yukimura said. It’s scared or something.”  
“Well, if they’re scared of you, it would’ve left me alone when I was in the room changing.”  
“That doesn’t mean anything.”  
“You said the boy disappeared and you have a nosebleed, and now the thing that was grabbing Kirihara disappeared and you have another nosebleed, the first you had in two years, after that night. How could this be a coincidence? You used your powers unconsciously.”  
“This is ridiculous.” Tezuka shook his head, still not willing to believe. But deep down in his heart he’d started to think that maybe Fuji had a point.  
“Whose idea was it?” Sanada was still reprimanding Zaizen and Kirihara.  
“It wasn’t me.” Kirihara started shirking the responsibility to Zaizen: “It was his idea. He brought an Ouija board to the camp and after knowing that there’re spirits here, he wants to communicate with them. So he suggested we come down here to look for white candles which we would need for the ceremony.”  
“That’s totally risky! Don’t you understand, Zaizen? You both almost died!” Sanada yelled, very displeased.  
“I understand. I’m sorry.” Zaizen hung his head and looked down on the floor.  
“Alright, let’s not shout like this in the middle of the night. Shall we return to our rooms? Get some rest.” Yukimura tried to calm everyone’s agitated mood.  
Sanada let out a huge sigh and warned the two juniors: “Don’t you boys ever do things like that again!”  
“I tried to persuade him, Sanada Fukubuchou! But he…” Kirihara tried to make his point clear that he wasn’t agreeing to any of Zaizen’s plans.  
“Yes, but you still followed him without alerting us! You’re in the wrong, too.” Sanada snapped.  
As they were going back upstairs, they saw Kikumaru hurrying down the stairs, obviously perturbed and anxious about something.   
Marui rushed forward and called him when he didn’t see them at the stairs and was running down the corridor: “Kikumaru! Where are you going? You should stay in your room. It’s not safe here at night.”  
“Something’s up with Ochibi!” Kikumaru said, panicked.  
“What’s wrong?” Marui asked.  
“He… uh… he…” Kikumaru was too nervous and distressed that he couldn’t spout out a full sentence.   
Tezuka held one hand up and said as he continued stuttering: “Okay. Calm down. Take a deep breath.”  
“Look at me. Look at me.” Fuji clutched his shoulders and rubbed them: “Okay. You’re okay. Tell us, what’s wrong?”  
“Help Ochibi! Follow me, please!” Kikumaru finally blurted out before hurtling back upstairs, leading everyone else to their room.  
They arrived Echizen and Kikumaru’s room and saw Echizen twitching and jerking convulsively on the bed, whimpering in pain.  
“Echizen!” Atobe said: “What’s wrong?!”  
“I don’t know! He started groaning like this a minute ago and when I asked what’s wrong he didn’t say anything!”  
Tezuka frowned and pulled the blankets away, revealing Echizen’s ankle, which was previously clutched by that thing in the bathhouse. The injury did not heal but instead had took a turn for the worst. His ankle had turned black and there’s some dark red blood leaking out from the wound. It was also swelling.  
It must have hurt a lot because Echizen was normally a tough boy. He didn’t even express agony when his eye was hit by a broken tennis racket a few months back.  
“Oh my goodness.” Yukimura inhaled.  
“What’s with this? Is it infected or something?” Atobe asked, staring at the awful injury.  
“I don’t think the ankle will turn into something like this if it’s infected.” Sanada shook his head.  
“I’ll get Oshitari. You guys stay here and try to ease his pain or what.” Atobe darted out of the room.


	10. OPPRESSION

CHAPTER 9-OPPRESSION  
Fuji and Marui went to get an ice pack from the fridge at the kitchen and applied it on Echizen’s swollen ankle, hoping the low temperature would mitigate the pain.  
Oshitari came in a few minutes and examined his injury, as he pressed at Echizen’s ankle for a bit, he winced painfully.  
“Hmm. I’ve never seen anything like it, to be honest.” Oshitari mumbled thoughtfully.  
“What do you think it is?” Fuji asked.  
“I suppose it’s some kind of inflammation or infection, something like that. It’s so weird. Why is it swollen?” Oshitari said, baffled.  
“Beats me.” Kirihara shrugged.  
“Okay, let’s do this, Echizen, on a scale of one to ten, how much would you rate your pain? I need you to tell me honestly.” Oshitari asked Echizen, who was breathing weakly.  
“It’s an eight, I guess.” He replied faintly.  
“Oh, that’s pretty high.” Kikumaru said.  
“Make it eight point five.” Echizen added.  
“Okay. Judging by his condition now, I suggest we send him to the hospital right away to get his wound properly checked up and treated. I’ve never seen anything like this and I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to do it hastily.” Oshitari pushed his glasses.  
“I’ll call.” Atobe said: “I think we should send someone to go with him.”  
“I’ll go with him.” Tezuka said.  
They helped Echizen up from the bed and went downstairs to wait at the resting area for the ambulance.  
“Since when did it start hurting this much?” Fuji asked Echizen as soon as they sat down.  
“It turned black this morning, but I didn’t think it was a big deal because it wasn’t hurting much. But just now it suddenly started to hurt like hell. I don’t know what’s wrong.”  
“No worries. I’m sure the doctors would have an idea.” Oshitari comforted him.  
The ambulance arrived half an hour later, and Tezuka followed along as the paramedics carried Echizen onto it with a stretcher.  
“I’ll return as soon as Echizen’s family arrives.” Tezuka told the others before entering the ambulance: “You guys stay safe.”  
“We got it.” Atobe nodded.  
Echizen clenched his jaw, bearing the acute pain when the paramedics treated his ankle temporarily on the ambulance.   
“Did you see those things, Buchou?” Echizen asked Tezuka suddenly, when the paramedic stopped fiddling with his ankle, his face lathered with sweat.  
“What things?” Tezuka was confused.  
“Those black, skinny things. You know, those spirits.”  
“I don’t see them yet, but I could feel they’re around. Did you see them?”  
“Yes.” Echizen nodded, his big amber eyes swirling with fright: “I saw them last night. They were all over in the room.”  
“Did Kikumaru see them?”  
“No. Eiji-senpai was asleep. One of them was standing on top of my bed, looking down at me. You could say it’s hovering on top of my bed. I couldn’t breathe, and when I opened my mouth to call for help nothing came out. I couldn’t move, it’s like I lost control of my body. The thing bent down and closed in on me, and there was this strong, smoky odour. It’s suffocating. And I feel as though…” Echizen paused, closing his eyes, like he was trying to make out that word he wanted to say.  
“As though what?” Tezuka started to feel terribly worried. Echizen wasn’t himself. He was usually unfearful and very calm, and seeing him act unnerved and shaken like this told Tezuka that things were not going well.  
“As though they’re taking me away.” Echizen finally said after moments of dead silence. What he said was vague and didn’t have a concrete meaning. Tezuka didn’t get it.  
“What do you mean by taking you away?” this phrase made Tezuka’s heart race.  
“I don’t know. I just feel… like sometimes I don’t know what I’m doing anymore after it grabbed me in the bathing pool.”  
“You’re fine. You’re just scared, that’s all.” Tezuka comforted him, patting his arm.  
“I feel them too now. I feel them everywhere.” Echizen’s eyes didn’t have a focus.  
“Echizen, are you okay?” Tezuka asked, concerned.   
Echizen didn’t say anything more and closed his eyes again, resting.  
The ambulance arrived the hospital near the foot of the mountain after some time, and Echizen had fallen asleep. Tezuka was exhausted as well but he couldn’t relax. Echizen’s words left him troubled. It felt as though part of Echizen’s soul was gone. It was like those things were taking over his mind.  
Echizen was carried onto a bed and they pushed him into one of the wards in the first floor, treating his wound. Tezuka waited outside at the corridor, and looking at how Echizen was behaving, Tezuka took his mobile out and began looking up information on Google about demonic possessions.   
He’d heard about this from his grandfather, demonic possessions consists of three stages, which is infestation, oppression and the final stage, possession, when the intelligent entity finally takes over one’s body and controls one’s mind. It is very dangerous and sometimes even fatal.  
He searched Google for possession and clicked into one of the websites that contain an article that states the stages and possession in detail. When he was reading seriously, the doctor approached. He put away his mobile and looked up: “How is he?”  
“How is your brother hurt?” the doctor asked, his expression complex.  
“He… he was in the pool and someone grabbed his ankle, I think the person’s nails accidentally dug into his ankle. And he’s not my brother. He’s my kouhai.” Tezuka didn’t tell the truth. He thought that the doctor wouldn’t believe him.  
“Okay. Normally, abrasions don’t become like this. It’s not shingles, and it’s almost black, so we’ve never really seen anything like this. And we found this on his injury.” The doctor gestured at the nurse who was standing beside him, waiting for orders. The nurse handed the doctor a folded cloth, and the doctor unfolded it and showed it to Tezuka: “Do you know what it is?”  
There were black, dry pieces laying on the white cloth, they were almost like burnt paper. Tezuka shook his head: “What is it?”  
“We believe that these are ashes, from a burn. We’re not sure why this is on his wounds. Even if his ankle was burned, ashes like this don’t just appear.”  
“Ashes? How could this be?” Tezuka thought of what Marui had said and what Echizen told him on the ambulance. Smoky odour. The scent was wafting everywhere in the club. There was a huge fire and everyone died. The thought made Tezuka’s blood run cold. This is so unusual and terrifying.  
“We’ll try to monitor his conditions and see if we could find the cause. He’d have to stay here until we’re sure what’s wrong with him and that this won’t turn into something more serious.”  
“I understand.” Tezuka nodded: “I’ll call his family right away.”  
Tezuka scrolled the contacts down in his mobile and found Echizen’s house phone number. He called the number and it rang for a long while before someone picked it up. Tezuka told Echizen’s mother that Echizen was injured and had to stay in the hospital because the doctor had to monitor his condition. Echizen’s mother said they’ll rush over instantly.  
Tezuka entered the ward to check on Echizen upon hanging up. Echizen was sitting up straight on the bed, staring into space.  
“You feeling better?” Tezuka asked.  
Echizen did not reply.  
“Is it still hurting?” Tezuka sat down: “I’ve called your parents. They’d be here.”  
Echizen was still ignoring Tezuka.  
“Echizen.” Tezuka frowned as he looked at Echizen. The sight made his heart miss a beat. Echizen was staring blankly straight ahead, his eyes hollow, without any emotions. But an eerie grin was spreaded over his pale face, a lunatic, sinister smile. That wasn’t him.  
“Echizen!” Tezuka called out, clutching Echizen’s arm and shaking it: “Can you hear me?”  
The evil smile disappeared from Echizen’s face all at once and he seemed to have snapped out of the state he was in. He looked confused for a second but when he turned and saw Tezuka, he said: “Buchou? Are you talking to me?”  
“Echizen, are you okay? I need you to tell me this.” Tezuka didn’t let go of Echizen’s arms.  
“Yeah. I’m okay.” Echizen pulled his arm back.  
Echizen’s parents arrived after some time and Tezuka left on the car Atobe called for him to send him back to the club. He was lost in his thoughts on the whole drive back. There was clearly something really wrong with Echizen. It was just like those horror movies he watched. Echizen was slowly being taken over by those things. They scared him first and made him see things, weakening his mental conditions and took advantage of him when he was weak and vulnerable. He must tell everyone about what’s happening with Echizen.  
The moment the car stopped at the club, Tezuka thanked the driver and entered the building. Fuji and the others were waiting for him at the resting area, and when he approached, they stood and asked: “How is he? What did the doctors say?”  
“The doctors couldn’t tell what’s wrong. It’s extraordinary. And they found ashes on his injury.”   
“Ashes?” Marui said: “That makes sense. Those things died in a fire.”  
“The doctors don’t know what’s wrong?” Oshitari asked.  
“Yes. They say they’re going to have Echizen stay for a few days and monitor him. But there’s something else serious.”  
“What is it?” Yukimura handed him a glass of water.  
Tezuka took a sip of water and said: “Do you guys know what possession is?”   
“Yeah. As in demonic possessions?” Zaizen replied.  
“Yes. I believe that Echizen is possessed. Or I should say, he’s in one of the stages of it.”  
“Oh shoot. How’d you tell?” Kirihara questioned.  
“He was acting really weird and saying that he could feel and see the spirits wherever he is. And when I went into the ward to check on him just now, I asked him questions and he was ignoring me, like he didn’t hear what I said. When I looked at his face, he was smiling. Like, smiling evilly.”  
“Oh, my goodness.” Fuji brushed his arm which was covered in goose bumps.  
“You mentioned stages. May I know what the stages are?” Atobe asked.  
Tezuka turned on his mobile and showed the others what he found online.   
“The first stage is infestation. This place was already infested with these things the moment we stepped in. And the second stage is oppression. That was what you said Echizen had been experiencing. Those things scared him and attacked him mentally, controlling his mind. And the last stage is where the possession happens, where they start taking over him, eating up his soul.” Sanada analysed.  
“Why’d they choose him though?” Fuji asked.  
“I’m not sure.” Tezuka shrugged.  
“So Echizen is most likely in the second stage, oppression now. Because possession hasn’t taken place.” Atobe stated.  
“Yeah, and he could be in between the second and third stage. He did show a sign of possession when he was wearing a smile like that, although only for a split second.”  
“What should we do?” Kirihara asked.  
“For now, we can’t do anything as he’s in the hospital. He must be safe there. We’ll see how it goes.” Tezuka said.


End file.
